“I am broken from inside,” “The depression that had been slowly eating me up finally devoured me and I couldn’t defeat it.”“Maybe I wasn’t supposed to come up against the world; maybe I wasn’t supposed to be known to the world; I’ve learned that’s what [makes my life] difficult. How come I chose that,”

He also stated that his doctor blamed his personality for not being able to recover from his depression. The letter didn’t reveal what directly caused the depression but all indications point to the fact that being a celebrity was a major cause of the pressure. There is no confirmed reason ruled for his death, but it is likely suicide.

My 2 cents worth is that depression and mental health is a major issue within our Asian diaspora. I do not feel that as Asians our culture has fully accepted depression and mental illness as an actual issue plaguing our diaspora. Jonghyun is not the first K-Pop star to die due to the pressures of being a superstar. Korean-American singer Charles Park, known by his stage name Seo Ji-won, was one of the first K-pop celebrities to take his own life, on Jan. 1, 1996, and actress Jeong Da-bin who starred in KDrama “Boys Over Flowers” ended her life in 2007 with a close source stating that it was due to a lack of work and imprisonment by her manager. It is a major issue which we all need to reflect and act on, and I hope to see Asia really take a serious look at this issue.